Greek Kale Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing
This healthy Greek kale salad recipe is full of bold Mediterranean flavors. It packs great for lunch, too. Vegetarian, gluten free, and easily vegan.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Have you ever ordered a kale salad on a first date and tried to gracefully consume a meal of giant, wayward kale leaves? Awkward. Regretful. Ugh. I’m on a mission to change that. I won’t quit creating new kale salad recipes until we can all walk into a restaurant and consistently receive a great kale salad. Based on some recent experiences, I declare that my work here is far from done.
Here’s how to make a kale salad that’s better than those sad restaurant salads. First, remove those tough ribs from the kale, chop it into bite-sized pieces, and massage it to minimize the poky factor and improve the flavor. (Yes, massage it. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s worth it! See instructions below.) Drizzle in a bold salad dressing and toss until it’s completely coated (I always use more dressing on kale salads than other green salads). Add some fun flavors and textures and you will have yourself a great kale salad.
I say all of this to defend kale salads against mentions that they’re “too trendy” or overdone. But kale salads, when made properly, can make truly delicious, crave-able meals. Those kinds of meals don’t go out of style. Right? Let’s make kale salad a classic like pizza and mac and cheese. We’ll all be better off for it.
This salad is the mac and cheese of kale salads, if you will. It’s creamy thanks to a bold tahini dressing, which makes this salad seem way more indulgent that it actually is. I packed in more flavor and texture with freshly toasted sunflower seeds and briny olives and pepper rings that I cannot resist. Chickpeas offer some protein and up the hearty factor. I’ve been craving heavy, cheesy comfort foods lately, but I legitimately can’t wait to get home and polish off this kale salad. I hope you feel the same!
Greek Kale Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing
This healthy Greek kale salad recipe is full of bold Mediterranean flavors. It packs great for lunch, too. Recipe yields 2 large meal-sized servings, or 4 medium side salads.
Ingredients
Kale salad
- 1 medium bunch of curly green kale (about 8 ounces)
- Fine salt
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup thinly sliced Kalamata olives and/or roughly chopped pepper rings
- ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and drained
- ⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan (optional)
- ⅓ cup raw sunflower seeds*
- ¼ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Creamy tahini dressing
- ¼ cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 to 1 ½ lemons)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 tablespoons water
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To prepare the salad: Place the chopped kale in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle it lightly with salt and massage it with your hands by scrunching up large handfuls at a time until it’s darker and more fragrant (this makes the kale more tasty and easier to eat). Add the chickpeas, olives and/or pepper rings, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan (if using). Set aside.
- To toast the sunflower seeds, combine the seeds with the olive oil and a few dashes of salt in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the seeds are fragrant and turning lightly golden at the edges, about 5 minutes. Pour the toasted seeds into the salad bowl.
- To prepare the salad dressing: In a small liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, and salt. Whisk until blended. Add the water and whisk until blended. Season generously with freshly black pepper, to taste.
- Pour the dressing into the salad (you might not need quite all of it, but I did). Toss until the salad is evenly coated with dressing. Serve immediately. This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the Parmesan. You might like a light sprinkle of nutritional yeast to make up for it.
*Sunflower seeds: I prefer to use freshly-toasted raw sunflower seeds and salt them myself to keep the salad from getting too salty. That said, if you can only find pre-roasted and salted sunflower seeds, skip step 2.
If you love this recipe: Check out more kale salads here.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Perfect for the midsummer foodbox ‘what am I going to do with this kale’ blues.
Thank you, Martha!
I just made this salad, and it’s fantastic. I love the flavors. Curious about the purpose of the salt on the kale. Does that help it to wilt a little?
The salt, plus massaging it between your fingers, helps to break it down and bring out more flavor. Hope this helps!
I am not sure what I did wrong with this, but the salad wasn’t one I’d make again.The dressing turned out extremely thick, a very heavy tahini taste, seemed unbalanced. the greens smelled delicious, but for the effort and the expense, I was a bit disappointed.
glad it worked for the others.
I’m sorry to hear that! It could be the tahini you used. I know some tahini can vary. You can always make it a little less thick by adding a little more water. Thanks for sharing, Maxine!
Great salad!
Thank you, Megan!
Super delicious! I thought I didn’t like kale- until I tried your salad. What a difference massaging it makes and the toasted sunflower seeds kind of pushed this salad over the top- we were almost fighting for the last bites! Thanks Kate for showing me how to properly prepare kale!
Massaging is key! You’re so welcome. I’m glad you love it.
I made this last night for a dinner with friends. I am soooo glad there was some leftover, and I had it for breakfast today. Amazing flavors! Thanks so much.
You’re welcome, Kristin!
I love your tahini sauce recipe it’s so good yet so easy to make! I started adding parsley to the sauce and it works really well.
I make a different version of this salad with Kale-Cherry Tomatoes- Hemp Seeds and Avocado with your tahini sauce. It’s a great salad for weight-loss. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! Thanks for the review, Tiago.
This is slammin’! I LOVE your blog!
Thank you, Michele!
Really good!!! We love it!
Wonderful, Cristine! Thanks for the review.
I absolutely love this! I had eaten a kale salad in a local cafe a few times but all I knew about the recipe was that it included mustard. By accident I came across this recipe and thought I´d give it a try. This was about a month ago and today is the 6th time we are eating it, my boyfriend and I absolutely love it. Also made it for a friend who is a picky eater and even she loved it :) A few times I had to swap the tomatoes for peppers, or the chickpeas for adzuki beans but it was a hit every time, once even with some quinoa added.
I love to hear that you love this one so much! Thanks for the review, Enja. I thin peppers would work nicely!
Hi Kate, I have made this recipe for large family gatherings and occasionally at home for my husband and kids. It’s so delicious! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Valerie!
I made this and loved it! I didn’t add the pepper rings, but did add regular black olives. And I also toasted the raw sunflower seeds in the oven (plain) instead of in a pan with oil. I made a “test” version this weekend and will definitely be making it again next weekend for my daughter’s extended family birthday party!
Lastly, someone asked about vegan parmesan cheese, and as a vegan, I always make my own with cashews, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder :)
Great to hear, Christina! Thanks for sharing your take and review.
I love your recipes
Thank you!
I forgot about this recipe until it got so hot here that heating up the kitchen to cook kale wasn’t an option. It’s excellent exactly as written but depending on the type of tahini you use for the dressing (I had a jar of Trader Joe’s on hand), it’s necessary to add an extra clove of garlic and more water to get the right consistency. It really is an addicting salad!
I agree! Thank you for sharing, Stephanie.
I just made and am eating this great salad. I added red bell pepper and halfed cherry tomatoes. I also added a scoop of cold lentil-couscous salad and mixed well. I thinned the dressing a bit more with additional lemon juice and water (my tahini was a bit thick). Finishing salt was sprinkled on top rather than into the salad. This is WONDERFUL! Very adaptable.
That sounds great! Thanks you for sharing your variation, Kathryn.
I made this recipe with lovely fresh kale from my garden for my golf club lunch and it was a huge hit. I live on a farm an hour away from shops so I made my own tahini for the first time as well. Many of the ladies have asked for the recipe so I’ve pointed them in your direction
Thanks for sharing the C+K love! I’m glad this was a hit, Jacki.
I’m excited to give this salad a try and convert some skeptics to fans of kale salad done right! One question, do canned chickpeas need to be toasted in the over to add more flavor? Would rather not add this step and it doesn’t look like you did this. I’ve found canned chickpeas to be rather tasteless so wasn’t sure. This salad is to be served at a party alongside several other dishes so I could leave the chickpeas out all together if they don’t add much flavor addition. Thanks for the help.
really good dressing! i added a touch honey for some sweetness and put it on some baby kale with some pita chips and sliced almonds.
Delicious and filling! I left the parmesan out.
Thanks for sharing, Nathalie!
This looks great — any idea how many calories per serving?
Hi Amitha! Nutritional information is below the notes section of the recipe. I hope this helps!
I feel like you made this salad just for me. Lol!! I am a kale salad enthusiast and sundried tomato addict. This is an amazingly flavorful salad with the most delicious dressing. Thank you so much for this recipe.
You’re welcome, Angie!
The salad dressing is really delicious. I made the salad exactly as recipe says and it was marvelous. I also substituted artichokes for pepper rings and pumpkin seeds for sunflowers (because I didn’t have them) and the dressing was a perfect match. I love your kale salads! ❤️
This is quite possibly my new favorite salad! I’ve been adoring kale lately and I could just eat this all day!
Great to hear, Anna! Thank you for your review.
Delicious! I love tahini, so I couldn’t stop eating this salad!
This was so so good! I didn’t need all the dressing but am using the leftover as a dip for raw veggies. I’ve literally never craved a vegetable salad before this one. I also appreciated that all the ingredients were very easy to find. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for a lovely kale salad… the best kale salad ive eaten so far. God bless you!
Hi there! I haven’t had kale in a long time and on a whim I got some at Kroger today. I couldn’t remember how to make the tahini dressing so I stumbled upon this one. I had just toasted walnuts and pecans for my husbands salad so I used that and omitted the olives and peppers but it was still divine! I used nutritional yeast in the dressing and also put parm on the greens. I must do this again, with the tomatoes! I wouldn’t have thought of that!! YUM! Look forward to seeing more recipes of yours. And I dont like to dirty pans either, I toast my nuts on a slice of tinfoil in the toaster oven…
I’m glad you loved this one, Dana!
I made this salad tonight and both my husband and I loved it. So much so that we kept eating instead of taking a photo straight away! We are vegan so I used vegan feta instead of Parmesan. I also used pistachios instead of sunflower seeds. So yum thank you!
I have a lot of old favorites and tried-and-true recipes from this blog and the Love Real Food cookbook, but lately I’ve been trying to branch out, and I’m so glad I did for this salad! It has a lot of fun, bright flavors, but the tahini dressing and sunflower seeds provide some grounding savory notes. If you’re looking for a filling and fresh salad to add to your dinner rotation, this one checked all the boxes for me!
I keep coming back for just that dressing! I’ve been using it on everything! Thank you. Making another batch tonight with smoke paprika in it.
Outstanding entree salad on a hot summer day! Because I didn’t have any sunflower seeds, I used roasted, salted pumpkin seeds from Trader Joe’s….easy and good. Also tried out another reader’s suggestion and used a rolling pin to help start the softening process on the kale….after removing the stems. Love all you recipes and gave your cookbook to my gluten free daughter-in-law, who loves it!
Best kale salad I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve eaten many! The leftovers were even great 2 days later. Only substitution: I used Trader Joe’s salted, roasted pumpkin seeds (because I had them)….they were ideal and I could skip roasting the seeds. This will get taken to my next potluck!
Really delicious.
So good I made it again very soon after the first time. First time I didn’t have sundried tomatoes or olives so I used grilled cherry tomatoes and grilled red peppers. Latter is a milder taste that I really liked.
Didn’t use parmesan either time.
You did succeed at making kale moreish!!
Just made this today and it is delicious! I messed up and added 1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard instead of 1/2 teaspoon !!!! Oh well I fished out as much Of the excess mustard as I could and even with that ummm mustardy mess up on my part it was still terrific!!!! Next time I’ll pay closer attention to measurements. Lol
This is one of my very favorite, go-to recipes. Your tahini dressings are out-of-this-world delicious and pair so unbelievably well with the kale in particular (although your greek wedge salad is another household favorite). I have used both curly kale and the dinosaur (lacianto) kale variety in this recipe and I personally favor the latter because it seems to respond even more to the massage technique and becomes so nice and soft.
Thank you so much for this recipe, I absolutely love it!!!
You’re welcome, glad you love it, Sara. I appreciate you trying another recipe and review.
Excellent, in regular rotation using full 10-oz bag (one of few leftover salads that stores well), variations easy, like nutritional yeast when no parm on hand. Thank you, Kate!
You’re welcome, Tilda! Thank you for your review.
This recipe is delicious and helpful for health.
I love the creamy tahini dressing.
I make a Mediterranean version of this salad by adding crumbled falafel and topping with pomagranate seeds and pinenuts for a decadent salad. Its a hands down favorite at our house.
This was excellent! We substituted pepitas for sunflower seeds and added some pita chips for extra crunch :)
My favorite kale salad! So delicious and addictive, I often crave it so much I have to test my will power not to finish the whole bowl at once :D! it is one of the few salads that only gets better the next day. Thanks to you and your blog I actually started eating kale few years ago! Best regards, Marina
I make this salad every single week, I absolutely love all your recipes – have 4 on rotation !
Well, what can I say. It’s amazing.
I’ve been wanting to start eating kale, cause I know the health benefits are amazing. I didn’t massage it or anything the first couple of times, but massaging really makes all the difference.
I didn’t have Parmesan or olives, so I used chickpeas, bell peppers and sun-dried tomatoes, as well as the dressing. Amazing.
Also, this recipe used up a lot of ingredients I had in the back of my fridge, so that was pretty great.
Needless to say, will definitely make again.
Hooray! Thank you for sharing, Maya. I’m glad you were able to enjoy this one.
Oh my goodness!! This is my new all time favorite salad. Love it. I made it yesterday and thought all day about how I was going to be able to have some for dinner tonight. Thank you for ANOTHER amazing recipe
You’re welcome! This one is a great favorite to have. I appreciate your review, Danielle.
This is my favorite kale salad. I’ve been making it since 2019. I prefer making it with Lacinato Kale. I can’t wait until it’s growing in my garden this season. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
I love that, Dee! Thank you for sharing.
OMG, this is delicious!!!! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Lisa!
So filling and delicious. A slice of crusty sourdough bread alongside this salad and I am in heaven. Toast your sunflower seeds for more flavor. A winner! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome, Margie!
I bought kale at the farmer’s market over the weekend because I know how good it is for you and honestly – I love it! Hubby… not so much. Too green LOL but when I told him I found a delicious looking recipe from “Cookie and Kate” he said, “Ok, let’s give it a go”. And we both loved it! Your recipes have helped my family learn to love veggies as much as I do :)
It is my second time that I’m trying this wonderful recipe. I never comment but this should be given its right! I’m not really salad-person and this makes me crave!!!
Hello Kate, I just LOVE this recipe! I had no idea about massaging kale for more flavor, it also softens it a bit, which is great! The flavors are amazing and the salad lasts for several days! I double this recipe and then divide it into 4 glass containers with snap lids, as a great grab and go for lunches! The only changes I made is that I zested the lemon and added that into the salad, and instead of adding water to the dressing, I added brine from the olives.
Love this recipe! I was a little worried I wouldn’t like the dressing, but its delicious. All the flavors blend so well (I did omit olives though). I portioned into 4 lunches for the week (with dressing on the side) and the contents held up well!
That’s great, Morgan! Thank you for your review.